06/08/05 Pinot Blanc

Welcome to Vine to Wine, this is your host Linda Moran and I recently attended a seminar in which we blind tasted some wines and tried to guess what they were and where they came from. Unless you are well practiced or are gifted with an incredible palate memory this is a daunting task. But the wine that stunned me was the Pinot Blanc. So today we are going to discuss Pinot Blanc. Pinot Blanc is an interesting grape varietal. It is a mutation of Pinot Gris which is a member of the Pinot Noir family. In general I find that it lacks the acidity and fruitiness of Pinot Gris. It is widely planted in Alsace of France, Northern Italy, Germany and Austria. And it has long been a nice alternative to Chardonnay in California and the Pacific Northwest in places like Oregon and Canada. Although, to me, Oregon seems to show the most promise with Pinot Blanc. In most areas it continues to be made in a rounder fuller style more closely resembling Chardonnay but without the fruit and nut qualities that we often identify with Chardonnay. It can produce a sweet dessert style wine but that is less common. Whether it is made semi-dry or bone dry it is usually best when consumed in its youth. I especially like it with a cheese called Banon which you may recognize in that it is wrapped in chestnut leaves and tied with raffia. I would encourage you to try a side by side tasting of Pinot Blanc from various regions and producers to see what you think. Remember to send your wine questions to Linda at vine to wine dot net and thank you for joining me on today's Vine to Wine.